Ness's Prayer
by Pumpkinshota
Summary: Even though I don't have any special telepathic abilities like Paula... I'm sure my prayer will be heard!


S…

Sat…

Saturn Valley, yes, Saturn Valley! That was where we needed to go now, without a doubt in my mind!

Around the four of us, me, Paula, Jeff, Poo…

The scorching lava poured down the sides of a miniature volcano which opened up to just to my right in the middle of the bright orange, red and black liquid fire below. Despite being a miniature volcano, it wasn't small by any means, towering above all of our heads and standing at least thirty feet tall from the spot where it protruded. The lava that flowed downward from the mouth of the volcano, only added to the amount that was already below us, nearly surrounding the entire ledge we were situated on, like an impassible mote. There was only a small, narrow strip of hardened built up lava that served as a bridge from the cavern entrance to the ledge. One slip from that narrow strip, and we'd be fried to a crisp, without a doubt!

The heat was nearly unbearable even to me, who could handle a hundred degrees Fahrenheit or more without much of a fuss. It was also a wonder we hadn't been suffocated yet by the horrible stench of something like rotten eggs that followed with being inside a volcanic area! Looking directly upward from where I lay on the hard rocky ground, I took note of the darkened cavern ceiling which seemed to be covered with thick black soot and rock formations hanging downwards in several spots. The strange formations were pointed in a way that would severely injury anyone in its path if one decided to break off and fall. Thankfully none of us seemed to be under any of these formations.

The walls, which were at least 50 feet away on either side, looked no different: completely black and covered in soot, with rock formations jutting out to create ledges much like the one we were on now, only smaller. "How long have we been here?" I started to think to myself as I noted I was drenched in sweat from head to toe and felt slightly lightheaded. I was sure we couldn't have been here for more than a half an hour, seeing as I didn't seem to be suffering from any severe heat-related issues just yet, other than the slight lightheadedness. Silently, I thought back for a moment to the last thing I could remember…

The last thing I could remember before reaching Magicant…

The last thing I remembered was being stabbed… No, impaled would be a better word for it. Yes, I had been impaled by the Diamond Dog before we had beaten it into submission! I remember it so clearly, as if everything was going in slow motion as it happened.

The battle started out with the Carbon Dog, a huge, six or seven foot tall, vicious, flaming dog that was capable of powerful fire PSI, as we quickly found out.

Poo attacked first with a powerful PSI Starstorm attack, sending meteors hurling into the side of the dog. The attack sent the dog sideways and into a nearby cavern wall with such a force the entire area began to shake as if an earthquake was happening. Rocks tumbled down from the ceiling and cavern walls, threatening to strike us as they moved past at a pace that was slightly too fast to dodge. Thankfully none of the larger ones hit any of us, or we'd have been in some serious trouble! The Dog growled angrily as it got back onto its feet, sending a huge fireball, larger than anything even Paula could conjure, straight to Poo. Poo barely missed being hit head on, but still got a hefty burn from the searing heat as it closely passed him by and dissipated into the opposite wall. Without a second thought, I used a minor healing PSI on Poo to ease him of the pain that comes with severe burns.

Having seen the devastating fire attacks the dog was capable of, Paula took matters into her own hands and decided to cool the dog down a bit with PSI Freeze Ω. She loosed the ice PSI and watched rather proudly as it surrounded the dog completely, suffocating it of its flame. This was where things started to take a turn for the worse. The ice was thick and completely solid, so we were sure that the enemy wouldn't break out for a long time. We had thought, just maybe, that was the end of the battle and that we could go forth onto the final 'Your Sanctuary' location. We were dead wrong.

Just as we turned to leave for the location, there was a sound behind of us, kinda like breaking glass. As we all turned toward the sound, we were horrified to see that the Carbon Dog had broken out of the ice… and not only had it broken out, it had gained a completely new form! It was completely white and was cut just like a diamond you would see in a jewelry shop. In addition to looking like a giant, moving diamond, it also had huge spike protrusions all along its body, looking as if they could cause some serious damage to us.

Giving off an eerie howl, it charged and attempted to slash at me! I barely managed to jump out of the way as the Diamond Dog struck at me with its huge, sharp, glass-like diamond claws. After missing me, it didn't skip a single beat and doubled around, going after Poo instead. He hadn't expected something made of diamond to be able to move so quickly, so he was completely caught off guard and got a nasty slash to his chest. Blood gushed from Poo's wounded chest, onto his pure white clothes and quickly started to pool around him as he kneeled down, attempting to heal himself with PSI. Quickly, before the Diamond Dog could strike at me again, I rushed to Poo and kneeled down next to him, lending him what energy I could to help with healing. Before our eyes, his wounds began to heal shut, but not before the Diamond Dog noticed and charged at us. Shielding Poo from the attack, I took the brunt force of the Guardian's claws and cried out in agony as my back was quite literally ripped open.

Suddenly, just on time to save me from quite literally being mauled to death by the huge beast, Paula jumped in with a PSI Fire Ω, enveloping it completely in intense flames. It howled loudly and turned its focus to attacking her instead, leaving me gasping for air as Poo now returned the favor and healed my wounds. Jeff, who had been shooting using one of his powerful beams and setting off bottle rockets throughout the entire fight, came to the conclusion after a short period of time that his attacks were doing very little to no damage whatsoever on the Diamond Dog. Now was his time to shine, however, as he attempted a new tactic: his Heavy Bazooka. Positioning it and aiming precisely, he pulled the trigger and the explosive rocket inside shot forth, hitting the Diamond Dog directly! This attack actually seemed to do a considerable amount of damage since the Diamond Dog was rendered a bit 'softer' by Paula's fire attack. It stumbled backwards several feet, nearly tripping over its own huge paws in the process. Several of the diamond protrusions, except for the largest ones, that lined the dog's body before had been blown off completely.

Healed now, thanks to Poo, I stood up a bit shakily and stepped forth, purple electricity-like energy now flowing over every inch of my body, giving off a loud crackling noise. I had to end this fight now, before any of us got hurt again. I could feel a monstrous power building up inside of me, waiting to be loosed in one final attack on the Diamond Dog. I wasn't sure if I could control it this time. This level of power seemed much stronger than anything I'd previously used. As the crackling got louder and my body seemed to glow in a multitude of different colors, red, yellow and blue, I was caught off guard. The Diamond Dog, with what remaining energy it still had, rushed forward and slammed into me with all of its strength. As it so happened, it slammed into me with one of the huge spike protrusions that was still left on its body, impaling me. I gasped in utter agony once more, the pain only getting worse as the Diamond Dog pulled away from me, leaving me to fall onto the hard rocky ground. I heard Paula's gasp of horror, and fearful shouts from Jeff and Poo as I fell. Feeling the blood rushing from my wound, I had this strange sensation of utter fatigue. I just couldn't keep my eyes open! It goes without saying, I blacked out before long, and when I woke up I was in this strange land where there were carrots as big as houses and kids singing and playing around talking flowers! I really thought I had died.


End file.
